I use twig-words to build my nest. Inside it I place my plot, characters, theme and voice, being careful not to crush their fragile shells. I nurture them until they have hatched and sprouted strong wings.* The fledglings fly from the nest - a small flock ready to make its way in the wide world.
*Ugly Fact: weaklings may be ejected from the nest.
-Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Inspirational Thursday 9/13/12

Why Thursday?

Thursday's Child has far to go - and most days nothing seems further away than the gleaming spires and golden turrets of the Kingdom of Published Authors. It's like the Emerald City or Cinderella's Castle, only better.

My Fairy Godmother appears to be on sabbatical because I've seen no evidence of a pumpkin coach. I'll be trudging through the Quagmire of Querying (huge risk here of slipping into the Slushpile from which few writers return), launching my manuscript into the Sea of Submissions, and climbing the Precipice of Publication without her help. Wish me luck.

Writing something is the first step. That's where the inspiration comes in. On Thursdays I'll share the things that made me say "Now, THAT might be fun to write about!"

Please feel free to add your own inspirations in Comments.

Talking Headstones - As you can imagine, this news item caught my eye!

The old fashioned, low-tech way

Techy-entrepreneurs have come up with the genius idea of QR codes for grave markers. Visitors with smartphones can access a website with details about the dearly departed - photos, videos, testimonials.
Password-protected of course!

Do I have to worry about who will "like" me on my Dead-Face(book) page?

Richard III's Remains Discovered

Here's something you might not have known - when I was a teenager I belonged to the Richard III Society. Along with the occult, the bubonic plague, and horses, I was obsessed with the Tudor and Plantagenet dynasties. My Aunt Sybil and PBS are partially to blame.

British archaeologists believe they've unearthed Richard III's skeletal remains. The spine shows evidence of scoliosis. Yes, Shakespeare said he was a "hunchback", but Will's smear campaign was cleverly designed to please his patroness "Good" Queen Bess, granddaughter of Henry Tudor, who became Henry VII. Same Henry who stole Richard's crown. (Henry was Welsh which makes things tricky for me, divided loyalties and so on.) Some may doubt Elizabeth's claims of virginity, but nobody disputes her considerable political acumen.

The poor butchered skeleton also shows a lodged arrowhead and a skull-crushing fatal injury, most likely delivered by a battle axe. At least it was probably quick. Quicker than the plague. Yes, I could play six degrees of separation with the Black Death. Who'd like to join me?

Here's a picture of him (then, not now obviously). DNA testing will prove whether or not they've got the right corpse.
I no longer belong to The Richard III Society but might go poke around for old time's sake.

And finally this...

I don't write Sci-Fi or Horror (though some of my characters have horrible things happen to them), but IF I did, I think a mass migration of crustaceans might make an awesome inciting incident.
Angry, ruthless crabs... Crab dip, anyone?

OMG, I loved this post. My husband was so excited about Richard III. He is a huge history buff,and our house is full of history books. You'd think I would immediately know who he was talking about. Nope. War of the Roses, Shakespeare. Still didn't ring a bell. Now I feel silly.